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Arthur Mourne
Arthur was a former knight of Avalot and once a lover of Mary the Mute. He later became one of the most deadly and effective tools in Westward after he became employed as an assassin. Background Arthur was born to a former soldier and his wife, Garet and Martha Mourne in 632 AU in the city of Avo. At a very young age, his father aspired to be a knight and eventually a minor lord with land. Unfortunately, Garet died while on duty when Arthur was but three years old. Arthur's mother was forced to care for him while teaching at Castle Dacre, teaching young Arthur how to read at an early age. She had been preparing for him to follow in the footsteps of his father and eventually become a knight as well. Arthur obeyed and saw it as the only life he'd have, being a commoner turned soldier. He joined Avo's city guard in 650 AU when he was 18. History Arthur rose through the ranks, impressing all his superiors and proving he was excellent at following orders. By 655 AU, he had become commander of his own barracks and was assigned to the Pit of Avo. He maintained order in his district through non-lethal means during the riots and was generally respected by his men. When the fires broke out in the Pit, he stayed behind to save his soldiers, only to be rescued by Lance Wymund. Later, he joined the assault on Castle Dacre to free the city from the tyranny of Emperor Juilus. He survived that battle and was rewarded for his efforts with the position of Captain of the Guard, which he accepted. For three years, he served the city of Avo, growing more skillful in combat and befriending a giant by the name of Sampson Reeve. The two aided Mary in her attempts at becoming Prime Minister of Avalot where they could, but Arthur was fully aware that his service was directly under the current Prime Minister, Kenneth Deshotel. Despite his forced time away from her, Arthur began to develop feelings for Mary, though he never discussed them with anyone. His work as a Guard Captain always came first, though he had lost the same respect of the other men as he had with those in the Pit. He also assisted his idol, Gunter Newgate, where he could in his quest to find out about Lance Wymund's dark past. Fracturing Arthur was personally involved in Mary and Deshotel's trip to Pokol, where he mostly kept guard for the Prime Minister. It was during this time that he had a conflict of duties, wanting to protect Mary but being bound to Deshotel. During the rival's trip in the island nation, he protected them both as best as hecould but was ultimately forced to let Mary alone to her own devices due to his obligation to Deshotel. He also worked with Sampson in an attempt to unmask Obitus, a terrorist who had been plaguing them since their arrival to the island, eventually uncovering a massive conspiracy. Unfortunately, Sampson died in a sacrifice to save Arthur and Mary, while Arthur was forced to abandon his station as Guard Captain to warn Avo of an impending naval attack. This also meant leaving Mary behind, something he deeply regretted. But, by stroke of luck, Mary survived her encounter with the organization called the Midnight Hands and made it back safely to Avo all the more wiser. Arthur also succeeded in capturing a former assassin by the name of Grit Maynard. However, his resignation as Guard Captain still stood. He pledged himself completely as a knight for Mary, her only bodyguard during the summer of 658 AU. During the summer, he found himself growing closer to Mary and the two spent every day with each other. Despite warnings from Deshotel, Arthur continued their budding relationship even though Mary was facing assassination attempts by the Midnight Hands. The Sacrifice In the winter of 659 AU, the Ninth Barbarian Invasion finally reached Avo. Arthur helped Mary escape the city, who was on a quest to bring Avalot allies to break the Westward siege. Together, they recruited the aid of the Pinelands and the Sea of Sands by helping the two territories put aside their differences. All the while, the two became romantically involved with each other, much to the annoyance of their other traveling companions. Arthur also befriended the assassin, Grit Maynard. After their success in liberating the Sea of Sands from the grasp of the Midnight Hands, the two spent a drunken night together. Upon awaking in bed with each other, Mary immediately panicked and Arthur felt terrible about the whole situation, believing he had taken advantage of Mary. This guilt traveled with him on their last mission with each other in Briggham, where he was kidnapped by Lily Ernest due to his muddled mind. Despite Mary's best efforts, she was unable to save him and Arthur was taken to Avo to be tortured by Olaf the Glutton. Arthur was subjected to bitter punishment and severe bodily harm, coming dangerously close to losing his mind especially after Olaf murdered his mother right in front of him. Arthur patiently waited, looking for every opportunity to escape even though he was missing a few fingers and his face had been horribly mutilated. His escape came during Mary's final assault on Avo when Olaf was making a panicked flight from the city. He neglected to respect Arthur's own strength and the former knight broke from his chains and slaughtered the sadist. Then, going through the sewers, Arthur managed to save his ally, Grit, by killing Doctor Pestilence. After the battle and upon the realization that Mary had married herself off in order to save the kingdom, Arthur was left with little else to live for. He begged Grit to train him in the ways of the assassin so that he would be useful to Mary and donned the mask of Obitus. Shadow in the Dark For six long years, Arthur trained around the world with Grit, learning the skills to make him a master assassin. When there was nothing more to teach him, in 665 AU, Arthur visited Mary and pledged his skills to her. Upon learning of his son's birth, Arthur Dacre, and Mary's second child on the way, he was ordered to kill Jamie Narvineous. He succeeded, but returned to Westward to find Mary dead from giving birth to her daughter, Sigrid Dacre. While grieving, Arthur was confronted by Mary's husband, Hysaph Jaric. Rather than have Arthur killed, Jaric employed his help as Westward's own secret assassin. As Jaric's personal assassin, Arthur was not allowed to interact with the Hysaph's children and took on the name Obitus after the dark nature of his disguise. While employed, Arthur killed off many dangerous enemies of the Hysaph's family and protected them in the shadows. By 670 AU, the Black Dog Revolution had sparked up in the Berma territory of Westward and Jaric was looking for a way to end the matter more peacefully. Unfortunately, he decided the best course of action was to use his army to police the Bermans and send in Arthur to kill key members of the rebellion. Never exposing himself, Arthur did as was commanded and ended the Revolution in 672 AU with very few causalities. In the modern day, Arthur continues his service to the Hysaph and has not directly met his family yet. Only his son, Arthur, knows of his father's existence. Personality Before he became an assassin, Arthur was always a kind and determined young man. Because of his early ambition to become a knight, he trained regularly and expected the best out of everyone around him. Secretly, he was a huge romantic who often wrote steamy novels whenever he had a free moment. When he met Mary, he changed his ambition to being at her side and loved her deeply for her conviction in the face of a challenge. When he was captured and tortured, he still kept his faith in her only to have that shattered when she was forced to marry Jaric. With his love, looks, and family all taken from him, he turned to protecting Mary and her family. He saw himself as he always had, a sentinel and dark protector.